At last count, Sen. Ted Stevens (also known in Alaska as "Uncle Ted" for being a campaigner for Alaskan statehood, the longest-serving Republican in the US Senate, and the ultimate in bringing home the federal bacon; also also known as "A series of tubes"; also also also known as "a convicted felon") is leading mayor of Anchorage Mark Begich (also known as "graduate of my high school" and "brother-in-law of my high school Spanish teacher) in their race for the Senate by about 3,250 votes.

It still makes me sick that this is the current face of my state to the country.

Anyway. That's how things stand back home, politically. The New York Times and Rep. Mike Doogan (who I had the pleasure of working with in the '06 Alaska House of Representative's campagin) both have good articles on the state of things.

(I spent the last third or so of Obama's speech crying quietly to myself. I think I started when he started thanking his family, and I just got new bursts all the way through -- when he said a new spirit of service and I realized I was hearing and watching my generation's ask not what your country can do for you, our Gettysburg, our . . . That's a defining moment I saw last night.

I finally calmed down enough to start screaming, especially when the mob chanting "Yes we can!" walked by and went into the frat quad.

And then I talked to my mom on the phone, and I told her about crying, and she said that this was like nothing in her lifetime. "You had 'ask not what your country!'" I said. "Yes," she said, "and that was inspiring, but this is the culmination of all that, of the '60s, and I couldn't be gladder you're here for it."

At which point I started tearing up again. I'm choking up now writing it.)

I'm pretty proud to be an American right now -- but it's looking harder and harder to be proud of being an Alaskan, and that . . . that sucks. A lot.

This comes as very little surprise to, well, anyone, I expect. The real question is how this is going to reflect on Palin, I should think.

Man. Exciting year to be an Alaskan. (Last night at rehearsal my Alaskan-ness was brought up while I was trying to defend myself against an accusation of witchcraft, which led, predictably, to "Do you know Sarah Palin?" and "Can you see Russia from your house?" But it also led to "So you've seen the aurora borealis, right?" which was much more pleasant to brag about.)

Mailed my ballot. I wish I had a sticker that says "I Voted Today!" That would be sweet.

For the record, while I think the latest Daily Show was hilarious ("What the pfuck?"), I was not so pleased with the Wasilla segment. Mostly I was embarrassed -- way to shake the stereotype, guys -- but mostly I was annoyed -- way to see my home state derided on national TV. WOOHOO.

Ah, well. It'll all be over soon.

In totally unrelated news: Would anyone be interested in giving me some feedback on a (mostly finished) Heroes vid?

Rehearsing said scene, in which my boyfriend makes a move on me before I reveal that I'm pregnant, out on the quad, in spite of the inherent OH GOD AWKWARD of it.

The pretty girl director getting fed up with the boy's inability to make a move on me and doing it herself to show him what to do.

"I don't know why you find this so difficult! She's hot!"

Being told by a cute actor afterwards that "The moment when you held his hand on your stomach and were looking up at him -- I think that was the strongest moment of the scene."

Watching three dozen actors in unitards, howling obscenities and battle-cries, thoroughly trounce the School of Art at dodgeball.

Being told one's sound design is great.

A friendly suggestion to the liberals of America: for Pete's sake, either stop talking about Sarah Palin, or start talking about Joe Biden. John McCain is running for president, and yes, I know, Palin would be "a heartbeat away from the presidency," and that is certainly an issue, but she isn't the primary candidate here. Moreover, every joke at her expense is playing right into the GOP's hands, and keeping attention focused on her rather than McCain -- or for that matter, Obama and Biden. Hey, remember them?

It was an unpleasant morning -- between lingering rage over an article I read yesterday that I'll probably write up a rant about later, and the test in Spanish that I did fine on, but, dude, tests -- until I saw that the VogonsmiceUltimate Showdown of Ultimate Detiny Hadron Collider has not destroyed the earth.

And, dude, how can your morning be bad after that?

By the by, my roommate is awesome. She calls incessant quoting "scripting" and occasionally bemoans the fact that she does it so much and worries about what it says about her neurochemistry -- and then, of course, one of us starts bemoaning the state of our brain chemistry in the Joker's voice, or terrible Irish brogues, or David Tennant's voice, and then we're both in fits of giggles and it's okay.

She's a good roomie, even if she does hate Martha and Sarah Jane and Firefly.

As an Alaskan, I will say that Sarah Palin has actually been doing an excellent job as governor; she shows an admirable tendency to follow her principles rather than her party line, especially when it comes to standing up to big business. Not that she's going to have much opportunity to do that if she's VP. Talk about toeing a line.

Fuck me.

The certainty that there are women (and men) out there who will vote McCain-Palin solely to get a woman in office, ignoring the fact that that ticket in the White House would almost certainly impact women's rights as negatively as any other Republican ticket. As roomie put it, making a historic leap forward in women's roles at the price of women's rights is not feminist.

Also, y'know, ignoring the gender stuff briefly, it might be nice to have some civil rights back. Maybe voting with the good of the American population in mind, instead of narrowing one's focus down to what's between the candidates' legs, would be a good idea. Just a thought.

ETA: I'm just gonna consider my Permanent Fund Dividend this year compensation for wearing an "I'M AN ALASKAN, MAKE FUN OF ASK ME ABOUT PALIN AND MAKE FUN OF TED STEVENS/OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION WITH ME" sign for the next two months. >.

So I'm sitting in Shakespeare class watching the clock and being bored, as the prof asks "Is Macbeth's final fight caused by his valour or madness? Is it comitatus, the idea that you fight to the very last?"

Blah blah blah, I think.

". . . I think of Starbuck in Galactica," the prof continues, "saying you fight until you can't fight any more."

.... WHAT, I think, are ALL of my professor's GINORMOUS GEEKS.

(I should point out, as another example, that Doc recently sewed a BSG insignia to his motorcycle jacket.)

The prof also referenced Narnia when talking about the rules of a universe -- can people come back to life in the world of this work? Or do they just show up as ghosts with their throats slit? (Man, that would be such a bad twist on Narnia.)

I really want to reread Weird Sisters now.

SO, in other CMU news, Barack Obama is coming to Pittsburgh on Friday, so I'll be skipping classes to go see him. As gao pointed out, chances are I will not be telling my grandkids about the classes I went to on Friday. So I have to get tickets (for me and buongiornodaisy, EEEEE) today or tomorrow. Whoof.

ETA: Also, totally random question -- does anyone have a version of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" they'd be willing to share? I heard it in a boutique in LA over spring break and just kind of . . . stopped to listen. It's a good song.